Middlesex in the city: Woman appears on 'Wife Swap'

Andrea Robarge of Middlesex traded in her ax for a blue and black sequined striptease outfit on Wednesday night’s episode of “Wife Swap.”

Stephanie Bergeron

Andrea Robarge of Middlesex doesn’t like “you know, the hanky-panky stuff” and now, millions of people across America know that.

Her life was put on tape when the lumberjack traded her ax and chain saw for a risqué black leotard and wig at a burlesque dance show in Seattle. That and more drama was televised on national TV Wednesday night in an episode of ABC’s popular show, “Wife Swap.”

In June, the Robarge family volunteered to have their lives taped for two weeks as Andrea swapped roles with Serena McDonald from Seattle. On Wednesday, a crowd of about 80 gathered at the Lumberyard Grille in Canandaigua to see the show. Andrea, her husband, Wally, and their four sons were there, too.

Andrea and Serena came from totally different lives. Andrea, a self-described tomboy, is more focused on axes and wood chopping than make-up and hairdos.

“You can tell when spring is in the air. You just hear chain saws,” she said on the show.
Andrea does most of the chores at the family’s Middlesex home and runs her husband’s landscaping business.

Serena, a burlesque dancer, is more used to taking off her clothes than keeping them on. Her children mostly take care of themselves while their mom works.

So when the two switch lives, there’s inevitably some conflict. The audience in Canandaigua whistled as Andrea did a burlesque act at a show in Seattle and cheered for Wally as he explained why he doesn’t talk to his children about sex.

“I think my boys know what the buck does in a forest,” he said, which elicited the most hoots and hollers from the crowd.

Serena, during her two-week stay in Middlesex, learned the ins and outs of wood chopping and landscaping.

A lot of the show also focused on Matt Robarge, the couple’s oldest son. Matt is an artist and doesn’t always mesh with his outdoor-loving family.

During the second week of the swap, where the wives make their new families follow their rules, Serena makes Wally clear a room in his barn for Matt’s art supplies. In a touching, heart-to-heart moment, Wally and Matt draw portraits of each other while sitting on wood blocks in the barn.

“This might be the best place for me and that kid to connect,” said Wally.

Serena also put on a burlesque show with Wally acting as the master of ceremonies, filmed at the Lumberyard Grille.

Meanwhile, in Seattle, Andrea encouraged Serena’s husband, Dave, to speak up to his wife and demand more attention at home.

There were tears and arguments on both sides and not all the rules were followed. Wally literally takes an ax to Serena’s book on how to talk to kids about sex and later burns it, and Dave won’t let Andrea sell Serena’s costumes at a local flea market.
Still, in the end, there were some compromises. Wally said he and the boys now try to do more around the house and appreciate Andrea’s work.

Wally admitted that he was scared to see what ABC would do with the two weeks of footage. After all, he knew his students from the Wayne Technical and Career Center were watching the show. But after seeing the episode, he called it “an experience of a lifetime.”

“It’s different to see somebody evaluating your life once they live it for one week,” he said. “But it was very tasteful, I really enjoyed it.”

Andrea agreed that the show depicted her family appropriately, but seeing it on television through someone else’s eyes was “surreal.”